AlzNav nominated for the World Summit Award (WSA)

The Android application AlzNav, developed at Fraunhofer AICOS, was nominated to represent Portugal in the World Summit Award - in the ‘m-Inclusion & Empowerment’ - category, and will compete for its place among the world’s best mobile content.

Organised by the International Center for New Media (ICNM) in Salzburg, the World Summit Award Mobile is a global initiative within the framework of the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The award takes place on a biannual basis, in collaboration with UNESCO, UNIDO, UN GAID and WSA-mobile’s key partner Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Center.

AlzNav made its way to the WSA after being selected by a ‘National WSA Committee’ as the best mobile content to represent Portugal in the ‘m-Inclusion & Empowerment’ category. This committee is composed by national experts on mobile content and technology.

Now the WSA-mobile jury is evaluating the applications, in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and will select five winners by category, which will be announced by the WSA Office about three weeks after the jury meeting. The international jury is composed of renowned IT experts and industry leaders who come from all continents and have backgrounds in the creative industries, telecommunication, advertising, journalism and research, as well as in teaching. The jury also includes representatives of international organisations in the ICT-for-development field. The WSA-mobile Winners´ Events (Conference, Gala and Expo) will take place in Abu Dhabi end of January 2013.

This is the second international distinction for Fraunhofer AICOS’ app AlzNav, after being selected as one of the three finalists in the ‘Vodafone Foundation Smart Accessibility Awards 2011’, in the ‘Mobility’ category.

The AlzNav is a monitoring and navigational system designed for older adults and persons in the initial stages of dementia, allowing them to have more mobility, autonomy and sense of security when leaving outdoors.

The application also includes features that are very helpful for the user’s caregivers, as they can easily monitor their cared one’s moves and to get alerted whenever they leave a predetermined safe zone.

 

Source: 26.09.2012, Fraunhofer Portugal